The Bane(s) of Poseidon
by Moon's Son. Reborn
Summary: When two demigod children of Poseidon are threatened, it's up to a neglected goddess to help them along. With a prophecy speaking of a child of the eldest gods, what could be in store for these two?
1. The Beginning

∆—∆

" _Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." ..._

* * *

 _ **Olympus**_

The sun was bright up in the sky. It shined down on Olympus, casting a nice glow on everything around the place.

Nothing else on the city was that bright, however. There was more conflict on Olympus now than there had been since the Second World War. And _that_ was saying something.

It was mostly between the "Big Three" as the demigods called them. Hades and Zeus had lost their godly weapons, and they took it upon themselves to blame Poseidon's children. Yes, _children._ He had a son and a daughter with her, who were twins.

There was some debate between the gods about that. Zeus had done the same thing, albeit it being two different times with each time being in a different form. And it was rare for twins from gods to be born. They were usually powerful, almost to the point where if they were together and were both angry there was destruction around them.

No god had ever tried to find the cause, really, but it wasn't really a difficult thing to figure out. There was a guess that it was because the children were basically half of one another, where if they combined their power it would have repercussions. Almost like how Apollo and Artemis were while they were children.

A goddess stood at the door of the Throne Room of the Gods, hiding her aura as she listened to the gods. The younger gods were being ignored mostly, and she almost felt bad for them. The elder ones, mostly Poseidon and Zeus, were yelling at each other, and she wasn't sure if Hades was present or not. It didn't seem like it, because he put no input into the situation.

"Your children better bring me my bolt, Poseidon," Zeus growled, and she could tell that lightning was arcing off of his blue pinstripe suit (she supposed he wore it since that was his usual attire). "They have till the solstice to bring it, or there shall be war. They will be amongst the first casualties of it."

 _A three-sided war,_ she guessed. Hades would join in no matter what, fighting against either of his brothers. There would be no compromisation between them.

As a god, Poseidon couldn't really do much to hurt his brothers. Divine laws forbade gods from fighting each other physically or stealing the godly symbol or weapon of another deity. The only time they were allowed to fight is in sparring (training basically, but no god ever trained) and during a challenge. Those only happened when gods _really_ wanted another being gone, or they wanted to take their position as maybe King of the Gods, which has never happened thus far.

She grinned, turning away from the doors. The demigods had little over three weeks, and they didn't even know they were demigods yet. She was sure that she could help them beforehand, train them to be stronger. With how the fate of the world depended on them, she was sure they could use it. They would be the best there was in the age. Possibly even history, if it comes to that.

* * *

 _ **Yancy Academy**_

Harmonie Jackson sat in her seat, watching glumly as the other kids talked loudly to one another. She sat across from her brother, Percy, and Grover Underwood.

They were currently on a trip to some Greek or Roman museum, courtesy of their disabled teacher, Mr. Brunner. He was their Latin teacher, and she considered him to be the best.

Their worst teacher was the other chaperone, Ms. Dodds. She was an old lady that looked like she'd gotten her face punched in _way_ too many times. She always wore some type of leather jacket that was either black or dark brown. Her pants had to match, too. And she wore some dingy sneakers that it seemed she'd had for the past two years. _Ugh_ , she hated that lady. It was like she had some personal vendetta against the two, and she was just a substitute teacher that was apparently here to stay. She'd never missed one day since the beginning of her time here after their teacher disappeared shortly after Winter Break. She used each of those to torment the two, and she practically _loved_ Nancy Bobofit, the school bully.

She turned as she saw Nancy throw wads of her sandwich into Grover's hair, giggling noisily alongside her friends. Dodds looked back at them, her eyes narrowed at Percy.

Right now, Percy couldn't do a thing. He was on probation, from having done _lots_ of other things. He yelled at Nancy a lot for bullying, fight with people bullying, and played pranks on others, which put him in a lot of trouble.

Percy was boiling at that time, and it was understandable. He and Grover were close, so he'd protect the kid if need be. She'd do the same if she didn't restrain herself. She tried to _not_ get in a trouble a lot, unlike Percy, who had trouble calling his name. There wasn't a school that didn't end up with something happening because of him, and she'll admit that it was sometimes her. Like in second grade when they'd went to some other museum, and then she'd doused half their class with water _by mistake_ when they went to touch the stingrays.

Grover was steady trying to talk him down, keep him from hurting Nancy. That was difficult in itself, and he barely ever calmed once something happened. Not immediately, anyway. He usually on calmed down when he stopped it, or, in rare cases, Harmonie calmed him.

Nancy didn't mess with her as much as she did with those two. She supposed it was because she was less annoying, even though she was in the same boat as Percy and Grover.

Thankfully the bus stopped, and they were getting off in front of the museum. She glanced at Percy, meeting his eyes. His anger dissipated a little, though she was sure that it was still there. They could feel one another's anger.

She tried for a smile at Dodds as she passed the woman, her snaky grin appearing as she did. She had to be plotting _something._ There was no way that grin meant nothing. They were in serious trouble.

Grover kept making suspicious glances at her, Percy, and Dodds. It was almost as if he thought they were working _with_ the lady. But no, that woman was a _demon._

Right now, they were gathered around a tall column, and the teacher, Mr. Brunner, spoke to them about it. Apparently, the thing was grave marker, called a stele, about a girl around the age of their class. He also explained what some of the carvings that were along the side of it meant.

She jerked when he called on her. Dodds narrowed her eyes as she did.

"Harmonie!" Mr. Brunner called. "Which god ruled the sea after the gods took over?"

"Uh." Which god was it? She knew so many, and many had to deal with water. "Poseidon?"

He clapped. "Yes, yes. And the skies?"

"Zeus! And he's also the King of the Gods."

She heard one of the other girls, Nancy's friend she guessed, scoffed and said, " _Nerd_ ," under her breath. She ignored it as best she could.

And who took to the Underworld?"

"Hades."

As she said it, Dodds smirked. Figured. Off course she'd like Hades. She would work for him if she could. She was a demon herself. Or to them at least. She was nice to just about everyone else.

"Can you name any of the other Olympians? Start with the older Olympians."

She wasn't sure about all of them. She was prone to forgetting their names, like that one god of wine. She _always_ forgot who he was. She could what he represented, but not his name.

"H-Hera," she stuttered out. "And Hestia. Demeter, too!"

"Nice," Grover whispered, those he sounded nervous. Almost as if she did something wrong.

She got more confident after that. "The others are Artemis and Apollo—they're twins. Athena, the goddess of wisdom." She knit her brows together, trying to figure out the rest. "Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Hermes, the god of traveling. Ares is the god of war. And then there's, uh…" _What was his name?_ She knew it started with a _D. Hmm..._ "Dionysus is the last. He took Hestia's seat when she gave it up."

Mr. Brunner smiled. "Yes, that is all correct, my dear. Just know that those gods are _very_ important."

How could some myths end up being important? She couldn't just go into a job interview and say, "I know all about the Greek gods, too! They're, like, some super strong beings that killed their own father after he ate them."

"Alright, students," the Latin teacher said, his hands on the wheels of his chair, "let's take a lunch break. We'll come back afterward. Mrs. Dodds, can you lead them outside?"

The class drifted off, and the guys were pushing each other around. They laughed loudly whenever they pushed one another into another of their classmates that weren't in on it. _Thankfully_ , she was in the back.

Up in the skies, the clouds were gray, and it seemed as if there would be a storm. The winds were strong, too. Not strong enough to knock someone down, but worse than the normal day's wind. She was sure that it hadn't been like that _before_ they came inside, which couldn't have been too long ago.

After a couple minutes, everybody had yet to settle. Nancy Bobofit was talking with an older lady probably in her older thirties, all the while she attempted to pickpocket the lady. She wasn't very discreet about it, but Mrs. Dodds probably didn't care. Meanwhile, the boys pelted the pigeons on the scattered around with their crackers.

She, Percy, and Grover sat on the fountain, away from everyone else. There was minimal conversation. The only thing that was asked was from Grover when he wanted their apples. Both of them gave it up

Nancy went over to Grover with what she had left for lunch. It was an untouched peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She took the two pieces of bread apart, slamming both into the boy's dark hair.

Percy started boiling with anger, and she was a little mad too. Why would Nancy do that? Grover never did _anything_ against the girl, and she just messed with him this much.

Suddenly the water floated out of the fountain nearby, which Grover and Percy were sitting on, and Nancy was grabbed by it and pulled into the water. She gaped at it.

"PERCY PUSHED ME!" Nancy screamed. " _HE PUSHED ME_!" She was soaking, her clothes dripping with water.

He didn't, however. He hadn't even touched the girl. She saw the water as it was, though she was unsure of _how_ it happened.

And then everyone else started whispering to each other. "Did you see—" "The water like—" "It grabbed her!"

The teacher made sure that Nancy was okay before she turned to Percy. "Now, honey," said Mrs. Dodds. It was what she usually said when she was about to get someone in trouble.

"I know," her brother grumbled resignedly. "Erasing workbooks for a month."

"Come with me," she said.

"It wasn't him!" she and Grover both said. Then Harmonie finished, "It was the water, I saw it!"

Grover tried to say. "It was me! I pushed her!"

But Dodds was keen on getting him in trouble. She glared so hard at him that he trembled in his spot. "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood."

She pointed at Harmonie. "You too, missie."

"What? Why me? I didn't do anything?"

"I said you too, _missie._ "

Nancy Bobofit gave them both a smirk.

She glared sharply at the girl, turning before she could see the reaction. The twins locked eyes, conveying a silent conversation.

 _What did you do?_

 _I don't know,_ Harmonie replied, shrugging. _I just said that it was the water, not you. And then_ this _._

 _You shouldn't be in as much trouble as I am,_ the boy said, though she wasn't sure.

She didn't reply. Instead, she focused back on their teacher. She was already inside the building, tapping her foot impatiently.

They followed her deeper into the museum, into the Greek and Roman sections. No one else was in the room.

She stood in front of the Greek marble frieze with her arms crossed, growling like dogs did. Hers somehow seemed more sinister.

"You've been giving us, honey," Dodds said, and Harmonie wasn't sure if she was addressing Percy or her.

"Yes, ma'am," her brother replied swiftly.

She tugged on her leather jacket. "Did you two really think you could get away with it?"

 _Get away with what?_ As far as she knew, she hadn't done _anything_. Well, that was a lie. But it wasn't really that bad. She hadn't stolen from anyone, or seriously hurt anyone.

Percy said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shook the building.

"We are not fools, Jacksons," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you

out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

Harmonie figured her brother didn't know what the teacher was talking about, either.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, I don't..."

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs.

Harmonie was so surprised that almost didn't dodge the first attack from the thing.

"Do not prolong the inevitable, girl!"

 _Crash!_ The demon flew into something, making it fall nearby. It was undeterred, continuing on her quest to kill them.

Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair into the gallery. "What ho, Percy!" He tossed a pen that transformed into a sword as it came in contact with Percy's hand. Mr. Brunner's bronze sword from the tournament.

"Watch out, Harm!" She dodged another strafe from the demon, though she felt blood slowly trickling down her right arm. She sucked in a breath as she placed her arm on the wound.

Percy blindly slashed at the monster and luckily hit it. Thankfully it didn't hit Harmonie in the process. Why didn't _she_ get a weapon? She could have been very much capable of fighting as him. And two people with swords was better than one.

The blade went clattering against the floor as the demon came back for another swipe. Percy rolled away, dropping the sword in the process. She picked it up, and it felt good in her hands. Perfectly balanced. **(As all things should be)**

The flying Dodds avoided her after that. She was smart for sure. And bloodthirsty.

"Come on, Dodds!" she yelled, trying to get the monster's attention. "Don't be scared!"

Her mistake. Dodds came flying, her talons raking across her shoulder. Thankfully she raised the sword then, running it through the monster.

Golden dust fell onto the floor, and the sword shrunk back into the pen. She stared at it, wondering if Mr. Brunner's pen could always transform into a sword.

She handed the pen back to Percy, feeling the cuts burning a little. Dodds did a bit of damage to her, though it wasn't anything too serious. She hoped, at least. She couldn't be too sure, though. Her shirt had to be ripped a little, from when Dodds had raked her shoulder with her talons.

They walked back, and Nancy smirked at them. "I bet Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

She glanced at Percy, who looked equally as confused. "Mrs. Kerr? There is no Mrs. Kerr," she said. "We were with Ms. Dodds..?"

"Miss who? We've had Mrs. Kerr since January!"

"Yeah, she's been teaching pre-algebra ever since Mr. Jones left earlier this year," Grover agreed, though it wasn't very enthusiastic. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he shrunk away. That alone made her figure he was lying. This was all a ruse.

Percy went over to Mr. Brunner, probably asking about Mrs. Dodds. Harmonie _knew_ there was no way that Mrs. Dodds wasn't real. She'd literally taught them for six months, up until she turned into some monster.

* * *

 **So here's the first chapter of my rewrite of "Long Lost Sister." I'll try to update by next week, but I'm not so good with keeping up with dates.**

On another note, tell me what you think about this. Like the rewrite? Don't? I'd like to know!


	2. Greek Gods?

_**Sally Jackson's Apartment**_

Two weeks later and the school year was officially finished. They were back with their mom and Gabe Ugliano. She and Percy had called him Smelly Gabe behind his back for the longest.

Their mom, Sally, was honestly the best person that they ever met. She was understanding, she hardly ever got angry, and she was an amazing cook. Harmonie always wondered why she put up with Gabe because he wasn't exactly a good person.

Smelly Gabe was an alcoholic slob that did nothing but gamble. There were always beer bottles that surrounded where he sat, playing poker with his friends. He was supposed to work at an electronics store, but he never went during the time they stayed there. It could have also been while they were gone, too, which she didn't doubt. He was a fat man who always got his stuff from other people, like having Sally cook the food or "fetch him a drink."

Anyway, they were supposed to have come with Grover. They ditched him, and it made the girl feel a little bit bad. Not much, but it was there. He'd been acting odd ever since Dodds attacked them and denied it, and then it was even worse when they came across three old ladies with blue yarn and one of them cut it.

When they walked in on that Saturday morning, Smelly Gabe was sitting down on the sofa, his friends surrounding him as usual. He scowled as he saw them walk in.

Harmonie plugged her nose, trying to block out the smell of the cigarette butts on the floor. Gabe was also a smoker. That was the thing she forgot about him, and it was worse than having the house reek of alcohol.

"Aye, kids, you're back!"

"Where's Mom?" Percy asked.

"Working." Which Gabe never does. "You got any cash?"

He could also smell money apparently. She wasn't sure how because all she smelt was alcohol, coming from his breath and the surrounding bottles, and cigarette smoke.

"We don't have any," Harmonie tried to lie.

Gabe tried to make them pay for his gambling funds. He mostly asked Percy, so she was always the one handling their money. She still shared it with him, though.

"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at them with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."

"Am I right?" Gabe repeated, raising his voice a little.

Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in tandem. Harmonie plugged her nose.

"Fine," Percy said, throwing down his money. It wasn't much, probably seven dollars. They had more. "I hope you lose."

"Getting bold, are we?" Gabe sneered, turning back to his game. "You won't be when you see that report card, brain boy!"

Percy just walked off without replying, and the girl followed him.

Percy laid down on his bed, placing his suitcase beside his bag. She wanted to do the same, but she just stared at the pictures on the dressers. Most were of their Mom and them, separated from Smelly Gabe. It was those times that she missed out of everything. Going to school was fun and all, but it was just temporary. They never kept the same friends for more than a year, since they switched schools every year. If either one of them was expelled, both would go to a different school. They were never separated from one another. That was the best thing about it. No matter where they went, they shared the same dorm, and they went to the same school.

Harmonie slammed the do sat down on the edge of her own, sighing.

She thought back to their times at school. The year had been mostly normal, minus this one time where she thought someone was walking with some dark, vicious dog. It had red eyes that tracked her moves, but then it just ran away. Into the shadows.

Then she heard a voice that surprised her. "Harmonie? Percy?"

Her mother opened the door and poked her head in, and Harmonie smiled. Percy sat up.

Sally could make both of their days better just by walking into the room. She literally radiated happiness, and there was no way you could be angry at her. Her smile was always warm. Her long brown hair had a few gray streaks, but she didn't appear to be old. She doesn't raise her voice or say bad things to anyone.

"Hey, Sally," Gabe yelled from the other room, "how about some bean dip, huh?"

Harmonie scowled briefly before she focused back on her mother.

"Hey, Ma!" Harmonie stood from her bed, wrapping Sally into a hug. "I missed you!" Her nose was filled with the smell of chocolate, licorice (ew), and lots of other candy that her Mom sold at her job, Sweet on America.

Sally chuckled. "I missed you too. And you've both grown so much since Christmas! You're nearly as tall as me, Harm!"

Her mother was like 5'5 or something, and last Harmonie checked, she was like 5'2. Percy was taller than both her and Sally.

She hugged Percy and ran her hand through his hair, and then after that, she asked how they had been. She didn't seem to scare about Percy's expulsion. It didn't matter as much to her as to how they were doing and were they okay?

Sally glanced at both of them as if she knew there was something else there.

"Did something scare you?"

Harmonie frantically shook her head. "No!" She tried not to sound too loud with that. It would have been a dead giveaway. It was really bad lying to her mother.

She pursed her lips. She didn't push them, thankfully.

"I have a surprise for you two," she said. "We're going to the beach!"

"Montauk?"

She nodded. "Three nights—same cabin."

"When?" Percy asked.

"As soon as I got changed."

Harmonie's eyes bugged out. They hadn't gone for the past two years because of Gabe. He said there were money problems then, but his supply of cigarettes and alcohol were steady coming.

They both loved going to Montauk. They did all sorts of swimming competitions, they built sandcastles and stuff when they were younger, and it was just family bonding. And time away from Smelly Gabe. That was an immediate plus.

"And there's going to be someone else at Montauk with us. Says she's been dying to meet you."

Harmonie wasn't sure she wanted to meet this person. It wasn't guaranteed that she wasn't like Dodds. She could never be too sure about that for anybody. There were many crooked people in this world.

"Do you know what she's like?"

Sally shook her head. "No, not really. She knows your father, and she wants to get to know you two as well."

More chances of being a shapeshifting maniac, she thought. Nothing would ever come as it was now. She'd question basically everything now, and she would be even more paranoid than before. She wouldn't let it destroy a friendship, though. That would be going too far for her.

After that, Gabe came to the door and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes, I did," she said, and Harmonie got the hint that she was kinda annoyed. "I was just telling them about our trip."

"You were serious about that?"

Harmonie muttered, "He's not going to let us go."

* * *

 _ **Montauk**_

Sally drove Gabe's red Camaro, which was one of those older models that could seat four. The drive was short, maybe thirty minutes before they arrived. Percy kept thinking about what the lady that wanted to meet them could be like. Was she a bad person? Did she want them dead? She could have ended up like Dodds, he overheard Grover say it was a Kindly One, whatever that was.

When they arrived, it was sunset. The lady was in the water, swimming around the place. From what he could see, her skin looked almost blue. That was super unnatural. After a second, it looked tannish, but he knew he saw blue. She winked at him.

They went to the cabin and set up, which hadn't taken much time. The lady must have already done it all because there were no cobwebs from how long they'd been away. All the rooms were clean and orderly, and the kitchen was stocked up.

"Put your things away," Sally told them. "After that, you can go to the beach."

He and his sister rushed to get the job done, silently making it a race to get done first. They were competitive siblings, though neither complained as much when they lost.

He got done way faster than her, with how he just stuffed his inside of the dresser. She was neat with hers, so it took a couple minutes longer.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Loser," he said with a smile.

She crossed her arms, but he knew she was trying to hold back a smile. "It's not my fault you're lazy."

He grabbed her hand, pulling her as he left out the room. "Race you to the flag and back!"

"Oh, you're on!"

She pushed him as soon as they got down the porch, giving her a headstart for even just a second.

"Cheater!"

She grinned back at him. He sped up, getting rather close to her. He knew she wasn't going full speed. She was one of the faster people in their gym class. Whenever they raced, it was always close.

He reached the flag a couple seconds after she did, and that's when they really sped up. She jetted forward, and then he followed her lead. He was right beside her, and she smirked at him.

The race was neck and neck as they reached the cabin.

"It looks like Harmonie won," their mother declared before they could get to arguing. "And since she won, she'll get more cookies than you do."

He sucked his teeth. "That's not fair! She beat me by, like, a split second!"

He briefly glanced back, seeing that the used-to-be-blue-skinned lady was coming out of the water.

"Children, this is Amphitrite," Sally introduced when the woman got closer. "Amphitrite, meet Harmonie and Percy."

Amphitrite nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"You know our father?" Harmonie questioned. "What's he like?"

Amphitrite chuckled. "Straight to the point, are you?" She gave a smile. "But he's caring, loving, and honest. I can say that where he is now, he cares a lot about both of you."

"What's his name?"

"Poseidon."

Percy met his sister's eyes. "So you're both named after Greek gods?"

Amphitrite shook her head. "Actually, we are Greek gods."

"So our dad is a Greek god?" The shock settled before she could even reply. They couldn't be Greek gods. They weren't real. They were myths. That's all they were. Myths. Nothing more, nothing less. But Mr. Brunner had said that they would need it… Had he known that they were half-god? How had he known that? Was there a way that things could tell? Did Dodds know?

"Yes. He couldn't be there for you because of laws stopping him. So he sent me to protect and train you for the time being."

"Will we ever be able to meet him?" Harmonie asked, and the excitement was obvious in her voice. He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about meeting him, however.

Amphitrite nodded in reply. "Soon, I promise. But, for now, enjoy your time with your mother. Recent events have caused a problem centered around you two, and your father is steady trying to deal with it."

Harmonie deflated. "Alright." The disappointment in her voice was apparent. It broke Percy's heart a little, but he couldn't make Poseidon just appear to appease her. He would if he could.

Percy knit his brows together. "What's the problem?"

The goddess sighed. "Your uncle, the king of the gods, lost his weapon and he blamed you two. Seeing as you just learned about the godly world, that's impossible. So, you've been framed, war will be waged in two weeks, six days, and nine hours and your father was promised that he'd lose you two in the middle of it. Knowing that, I decided to come and help you along with your quest."

Why us? Was it not obvious that we didn't know what was going on?

"And try not to say the gods' names if you can avoid it. They'll be able to listen in your conversation because of that. Saying my name will always be safe, 'cause I know when I'm not wanted. But some other gods…"

Needless to say, people, and probably gods, weren't very aware. Harmonie told him millions of times that he was clueless, but there were some people far worse than him. He'd met a couple, and some were at least three years older than him.

Amphitrite cleared her throat and continued. "After our training, I won't be able to be with you as much, but I can guarantee that I'll help you. Z—the king doesn't really watch me, so I'll be around. Just not enough to arouse suspicion."

Sally was quiet through the whole thing. She must've been extremely nervous around the goddess. But the goddess' spouse was her previous lover.

"You know where they must go, Sally?" What place were they talking about? Why couldn't they just say the name?

Their mother nodded. "I do."

"Take them tonight. I promise you'll be able to see them after the summer." So they would have to leave their mom. Great. After doing that for six months, he didn't want to leave her again.

Sally nodded again.

"Have your fun for now. I'll tell you when it is time for them to go."

* * *

At night, they started a fire. They heated up hot dogs and marshmallows over it. Alongside that, they had blue-corn tortilla chips and whatever candy that their mom decided to bring. Sally told stories of her during her childhood, back before her parents died in a plane crash. She talked about the books she wanted to write someday when she had enough money to quit her job.

After that, Percy asked about their father. Sally's eyes got misty. She'd probably tell what she usually did about him, and then some of which Amphitrite had also told them.

"He's kind," she started. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. Gentle, too. Both of you have his black hair. And his green eyes."

She fished a blue jelly bean from her candy bag. "I'm sure he's proud of the both of you."

What was he proud of? A dyslexic, hyperactive teenager who couldn't last a year in school? There was no way he could be proud of that. His mother found a way, but his absentee father? No, that's impossible.

"How old were we?" Harmonie asked. "When he left."

She stared at the flames between them. "He was only here for one summer. At this beach. This cabin."

Percy vaguely could remember seeing him before. It wasn't much. Just a warm smile, or a glow.

"It's time for bed, both of you." Sally looked like she was on the verge of crying. "We… we leave in the morning."

That night, his dream was odd. There were a white horse and a golden eagle (yes, it was golden) fighting to the death. A dark voice chuckled behind them, goading them to fight harder.

He tried to run toward them, but he was too slow. They were too far away from him.

The eagle dove at the horse, and it neighed, snapping its jaw as the eagle got closer.

The eagle came down at the horse again, and its talons were driven into the horse's neck.

He woke up promptly after that.

He sat up, taking in deep breaths.

Sally opened the door quickly, poking her head in. She opened her mouth as there was a thunderclap. "Hurricane," she said.

It was then that he heard the heavy winds. It surprised him; Long Island rarely ever had hurricanes this early. It wasn't even summertime yet.

It sounded like there were mallets hitting the sand, and then some more hitting the wooden porch. A banging occurred on the door, and then it paused.

Sally moved from their door, and then the front door opened.

"Searching all night," someone gasped, sounding tired. Percy and Harmonie stopped beside their mother. (When did Harmonie get up? Percy hadn't seen her.) "What were you thinking?"

In front of them was Grover. He was a regular old human on his upper body, but now he had donkey legs instead of human legs! He couldn't move from the surprise. And it was worse than when they learned the Greek gods were real. Just having his best friend be half donkey was worse than all of that.

Sally had a look of terror on her face. "What hadn't you told me earlier?" She had to yell to be heard over the storm. "What happened at school?"

He guessed Harmonie was shocked as well when she didn't reply. Why wasn't Sally shocked? Had she seen him before?

She had a stern look on her face now, and her voice was raised higher. "Tell me now!"

Harmonie started talking before he did, and she recapped the events with fighting Dodds. After that Percy took over and told about the three old ladies that cut that blue yarn. By the end of it, Sally was deathly pale as the lightning streaked through the sky.

She grabbed her purse. "Get your stuff," she ordered. "And then get in the car!"

Harmonie rushed back into their room at her orders, and he quickly followed. They didn't have much, but they would surely need their jackets.

No words were passed between them, as they were both nervous. Neither was willing to say a thing as they gathered their things.

He could just barely hear Grover running for the car with those hooves, and it sounded like he trotting. What was he? He was sure they'd gone over some half-human half-something else. There was no way he was a Centaur. His legs were not that of a horse.

As he went to the car, he couldn't help but have the sinking feeling in his chest. Something terrible was going to happen…

* * *

 **So yeah, I actually did go through with what I said. We'll get to the Minotaur fight at the beginning of next chapter. And then some other things, and then some random bits.**

 **But how's the chapter? Should I change anything? Too short? Just tell me what you think.**


	3. The Minotaur Arrives

_**Montauk**_

Grover was waiting in the backseat. Sally was obviously in the driver's seat. Percy was forced to sit beside Grover (don't think he's saying that in a bad way) as Harmonie took the passenger seat.

Lightning streaked, and the thunder accompanying it was loud. All of it was close to them; he could tell by the loudness and how the thunder immediately sounded off with the cracking of the lightning.

He was surprised that nothing had caused some fire or whatever. With this much lightning, and with the ferocity it seemed to hold, sure something would happen.

Grover sat beside him, nervous running his hands through his hair. The car smelled of wet fur—Grover's legs. He was still surprised by it. It wasn't normal. But neither were literal gods that ruled over certain things and could kill people regularly.

Every time they heard even the slightest sound of thunder, Grover quivered in fear. Was Zeus the cause of the storms?

"So…" Percy said. "Have you met my mom before?"

Grover shook his head. "We haven't physically met, but she knows that I'm supposed to be watching you."

"Watching me?"

"Harm, too," he quickly added. "But I was keeping tabs on you, making sure you were okay."

"So what was it after them, Grover?" Sally asked.

"Just Hades and a couple of his deadly minions." Grover shrugged, though with how he kept clenching and unclenching his hand he was still nervous.

"Grover!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

Percy jerked to the side as Sally took a hard left. There were darkened farmhouses that they passed by, some of which said PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES on white picket fences, as well as hills covered with woods.

"So are we going to that, uh, camp?" Harmonie asked.

"Please, sweetie," Sally begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger. I've tried to keep you close as long as I could. Clearly that was a mistake."

He knew she wasn't saying that _they_ were a mistake, but it hurt nonetheless. There was just something about that sentence that just hit him.

"And, uh, Amphitrite… she told you about it?"

Sally shook her head. "Your father has wanted me to take you. I… I was too selfish to do it. I could have lost you have forever." She was going to be in tears while driving if they didn't stop. And on top of that, it was raining and dark.

She had to swerve right to avoid some figure running through the street. Was it some monster? There were monsters in Greek mythology, so this was possibly one of them.

"What was that?" Harmonie asked. She had the best chance of seeing it—whatever it was.

"We're almost there," Sally asserted, ignoring her question. "Another mile." After that she started muttering, "Please," to herself.

Percy turned to Grover. "And, uh, about Mr. Brunner. Is he a demigod like us? Or like what you are?"

He didn't get the chance to reply as a bolt of lightning hit the car. _BOOM!_

Percy felt weightless, like he was being crushed, fried, and hosed down at the same time.

"Ow," he said.

"Gods, are you three okay?"

"I'm okay," Percy muttered.

He looked over at Grover, who was slumped over with his head against the seat. Blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. Percy shook him.

"Food," groaned his half-barnyard-animal best friend. Oh, thank the gods he was still alive.

Behind Grover, in a flash of lightning, a guy appeared. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.

"What is—"

"Harmonie, Percy, you two have to go. You see that huge pine tree?" He glanced at it and saw a White-House sized Christmas tree on the crest of the hill in front of them.

"What?"

"It's the property line," she told them. "Over the hill will be a farmhouse down the valley. Run and don't look back. Don't stop until you reach that door. Yell for help."

"We're not leaving you, Mom."

Her face was pale, her eyes sad as she looked back at the ocean.

"You're coming with us, Mom!" Harmonie said. "Me and you can carry Grover. And Percy, you watch out for us, alright?"

"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder than last time.

Percy realized that it wasn't a blanket over his head. He couldn't be holding up a blanket, since his big, meaty hands were swinging at his sides. And those horns looked real enough now.

They'd gone over some monsters. He couldn't figure out what it was. Some animal. Part animal. _Bull._ What was something that was part bull?

"The Min—"

"Do _not_ say its name."

They climbed out of the car, and Percy lifted Grover out of the car. He weighed so much that he would have dropped him after a couple steps if his mom and Harmonie didn't help.

"He's so heavy," Harmonie muttered.

They quickly moved away as the Minotaur marched to it.

"Mom, what's he doing?" Percy asked.

"He has terrible eyesight and hearing," she explained. "He finds things by smell. He'll figure out where we are soon."

"So we need to go quickly, then."

At that moment, the Minotaur raised Gabe's Camaro up and bellowed in rage. It threw the car down and it skidded against the wet asphalt. There were a number of sparks coming from it. The gas tank exploded.

Gabe had said he didn't want it scratched. There was nothing left to come back to now.

"When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way—directly sideways. He can't turn very well while he charges."

"How do you know this?"

"I've been worried about something attacking for awhile. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me?"

"Keeping me—"

"You and Harmonie," she corrected.

"But—"

The Minotaur bellowed in rage and it started tromping uphill.

The pine tree was just a few more yards ahead, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker. He could have made it up easily, but he couldn't leave Harmonie and his mom behind. If something happened, he'd be filled with guilt.

The Minotaur closed in. Just a few more seconds and he would be on top of them.

"Separate!" Sally yelled. She hoisted Grover fully onto her shoulders, despite how tired she must've been. Harmonie looked like she wanted to protest, but she ran to the right instead.

Percy didn't want to, but it made sense. He sprinted to the left of her. He turned to see the Minotaur bearing down on him, its black eyes burning with hate. He reeked of rotten meat.

It lowered its head and charged, aiming its razor-sharp horns at his chest.

Fear was all he felt, and it made him want to just jet down to the other side of the hill and to the place beyond, but that wouldn't work. The Minotaur was way too fast for that. He waited till the last moment and sidestepped, letting out a breath as the Minotaur charged past him.

The monster went passed him like a freight train, and it bellowed in frustration and turned. Its eyes were set on a new target: his mom, who was setting Grover down in the grass.

By then they reached the crest of the hill, and that giant pine tree was in front of them. Down the valley was that giant farmhouse that was glowing yellow through the rain.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing their mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run, Percy!" she told him. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

Percy just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told them to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.

Where was Harmonie?

Was she safe?

The Minotaur squeezed his mother's neck, and then she started to glow golden. It shimmered, and then there was nothingness.

Harmonie ran over to Grover and tried to pull him away from where he was, but the Minotaur saw her.

Anger replaced Percy's fear. He felt strength burning in his limbs, similar to what he'd felt during their fight with Dodds.

He took off his red rain jacket.

"Hey!" he yelled, holding the jacket out. He ran to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Hey, ground beef!"

"Raarr!" The monster turned to Percy and shook its meaty hands. He was kind of glad that its attention was on him; that meant Harmonie and Grover were safe for now.

Percy put his back to the big pine tree and waved the jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking he'd jump out of the way at the last moment.

But it didn't happen like that.

The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab the boy whichever way he tried to dodge.

Time slowed down.

His legs tensed. He couldn't jump sideways, so he leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on its neck.

How did he do that? He didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked his teeth out.

The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake him. He locked his arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in Percy's eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned his nostrils.

The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. It should have just backed up into the tree and squashed him flat, but he was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.

Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. Harmonie was trying to wake him, to get him to move or something.

"Food!" Grover moaned.

The bull-man wheeled toward them, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. Percy thought about how he had squeezed the life out of his mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled him like high-octane fuel. He got both hands around one horn and the Minotaur pulled backward with all his might.

The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then-snap!

The bull-man screamed and flung him through the air. He landed flat on his back in the grass. His head smacked against a rock. When he sat up, his vision was blurry, but he had a horn in his hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.

The monster charged.

Without thinking, Percy rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, he drove the broken horn straight into its side, right up under its furry rib cage.

The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate-not like their mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster was gone.

The storm was distant now. The rain had stopped. Percy smelled of livestock and his knees were shaking. His head felt like it was splitting open. He was weak and scared and filled with grief as his mother just vanished. He wanted to lie down and cry, but Harmonie and Grover were still there.

Harmonie tried to carry Grover over to him, so he met her and together they both carried the boy to the giant farmhouse. They set him down and, as soon as they hit the porch, he fell unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Camp Half-Blood**_

Harmonie found that, even with the dangers that it had, she liked the camp.

Her brother was unconscious from the fight, and she was left to herself to explore. After a bit, a girl named Katie Gardner came to show her around, but the alone time was fun while it lasted.

Katie herself was a daughter of Demeter, and she was around her and Percy's age. She had brown hair and green eyes that were just a couple shades darker than Harmonie's. The girl was pleasant to be around, and she explained everything thoroughly. She must've been here a long time.

The first place she was shown were the cabins. They were arranged in a U shape, and Katie said that it was like how the thrones were on Olympus. The campers that stayed during the winter had been able to go see the city of the gods, and while talking about it Katie seemed amazed.

She explained how the first two cabins, and definitely the cleanest, were Zeus's and Hera's.

To the right of Hera was Demeter's cabin. The roof of the cabin constructed of growing grass and had tomato vines growing on the walls. It had wild flowers and roses growing on the porch. The cabin color was a light shade of brown.

After Demeter's cabin was Athena's. The Athena cabin was a gray building that had a owl carved over the doorway. The windows were blocked by white curtains. Katie told her that there was an armory for just their cabin behind the place. Katie said they were "brainiacs" of the camps.

Artemis's cabin was next. The cabin glowed silver, with carvings of different wild animals. Katie explained that the glowing only happened at night. It looked like any other wooden cabin alongside the carvings at day. The Hunters of Artemis used it, but they weren't here.

The outside of the next, which was Aphrodite's, was painted a pinkish-purple color. There were pillars on each corner, and then Katie refused to tell of the insides.

The last on the side was Dionysus's. It was formerly Hestia's, but it was given to Dionysus when she gave up her seat as an Olympian. It was lined with grape vines on the outside. She said the only two people allowed inside were the god's kids, Pollux and Castor.

The first cabin to Zeus's left was Poseidon's. On the outside, it was made of rough gray stone. There were pieces of coral and seashells poking out of it, making it seem like the ocean floor. She didn't worry about the inside; she'd get to see that later.

After that was Ares's. The home of the bullies, as Katie said. It could have been true, she supposed. Ares was a god known for causing trouble, such as unnecessary fight, strife, and whatnot. Anyway, the cabin was an angry red color. And there was a boar head above the doorway, which Katie said had landmines around it, that watched her every move.

Apollo's cabin was just a gray color. The only difference between others were the yellow flowers. She figured it was like Artemis's, but bright at day.

There wasn't much to see for the Hephaestus cabin. The door was like those circular vault doors (kinda like the ones from banks), and the rest of the cabin was made of brick. There was a smokestack at the top, which made it seem more like a factory than a place to live.

The last cabin on this row was the Hermes cabin. It was old and worn, like it hadn't seen a remodeling in thousands of years. Through the window, she saw _so_ many people. It was unbelievable. (Okay, no more descriptions. Harmonie _cannot_ do that again.)

After that, Katie led her to the different areas of camp. She particularly avoided the forest. When asked, she explained that there were monsters inside. Why would they have monsters in a camp for demigods?

The large, blue, four-story house that was clearly able to be seen from everywhere in the camp was for Chiron (who was Mr. Brunner) and Dionysus, who was banished to here as punishment for chasing after some off-limits Nymphs (whatever that meant). Beside that were the strawberry fields, which Harmonie could tell that Katie loved.

She was shown to the archery range and armory, which were right beside each other. The armory was filled with swords, spears, javelins, and such. Everything was for melee. The bows must've been at the range.

"You'll have to choose one tomorrow. It's late, so after this, you'll be off to bed," Katie told her.

Harmonie didn't want to sleep, however. Her mother had just _died._ Her throat had been crushed by the Minotaur, and then there wasn't even a trace of her body.

And to be protecting them, Amphitrite hadn't shown. Sally would still be here if she had appeared, but _no_ , I'm just going to wait. _No,_ your mother isn't important. I'll just let her die and cause you pain.

She groaned. Maybe she shouldn't have listened to Percy. It certainly hadn't helped their situation. If she'd been there, there was a chance that Sally wouldn't have died.

"You okay?" Katie placed her hand on Harmonie's shoulder. Her voice seemed strained. "What happened?"

She'd forgotten that Katie hadn't been there during the fight. Annabeth and Mr. Brunner—Chiron, sorry—had both been there, and no one else.

"My mom was… killed. By the Minotaur that was after us."

Katie's licked her lips. "I'm… sorry for your loss." They didn't say any other words on the matter.

They arrived at the stables. "These are the stables, where we keep our Pegasi."

They walked in, and there were like three different Pegasi right in front of them.

"This is Blackjack," she introduced. She pointed at the black one. "He _really_ selective with who he likes. I could say three people here now that he likes, one of them being myself."

"Why is that?"

"No one knows. We just found him once when a couple of demigods found out about some demigods being attacked somewhere in New England. Blackjack was caught in the crossfire, hurt by one of the half-bloods on accident."

"And he trusts you?"

Katie nodded. "I think he likes kinder people. _Gentler_ people. And Clarisse. Dunno why, but he's taken a liking to her."

"Who's that?"

"Clarisse?" Katie glanced around nervously, before she dropped her voice to a whisper. "She's the biggest bully of them all. Child of Ares. She has a 'ritual' of sorts, where she takes the new kids to the bathroom and dunks their heads into the toilet."

 _Worse than anything Nancy Bobofit could do_. She'd actually prefer for the girl to be here than this _Clarisse._

"What about the other two?"

"They're pretty nice. Better than Blackjack is with people, I'd say. They're still a little picky."

They left the stables after that.

"I'll show you around a little more in the morning. I'm _very_ tired right now. I'll meet you at the Big House at eight, alright?"

Harmonie nodded, following the girl to the cabins again.

"You'll have to sleep in the Hermes cabin since you haven't been claimed yet. They welcome all newcomers until they have been claimed."

"But it's _crowded_. How will I sleep in there?"

Katie shrugged. "I guess you can ask Chiron to let you sleep in the Big House. Your brother is here, right? After killing that Minotaur?"

She guessed so. He'd fallen out right here, so that was likely.

Katie knocked on the door, pushing it open before anyone came.

"Chiron's up the stairs," the daughter of Demeter said. "You need me to help you with that?"

She didn't feel like doing it herself.

"If it's not too much of a burden."

Katie chuckled. "It's fine."

Katie led her up stairs, going to the last door on the hall. It had a _do not enter_ sign on it. She knocked quickly, something of a smile on her face. It was hard to see; the only light was coming from way down the hall.

"Come in," was the reply from inside.

Katie pushed the door open, gesturing for Harmonie to go first. She followed in afterward.

"Uh, Chiron…" It still felt weird calling him that. She was so used to calling him Mr. Brunner and nothing else. It'd take long before it _stuck_. "Can I sleep some in here? Maybe like the couch downstairs? The Hermes cabin is crowded, and Percy's here. So can I just stay here?"

Chiron's eyes flitted to Katie's. "Yes, you may. But after today, you may not. All newcomers sleep in the Hermes cabin until they are claimed."

"Understood." She turned, but didn't move. "Are there any blankets down there or something? It was cold down there." _Even with the fireplace._

"I will show you them in a second. Good night, Katie." He smiled softly at the two, turning his wheelchair around.

 **I'm sorry for taking so long for this chapter. I've been a little busy since I had to go on a trip to Georgia, and then I'm trying to learn Spanish in almost twenty days for school. I'll attempt to make my updates faster.**


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